Septet (Saint-Saëns)

The Septet in E♭ major, Op. 65, was written by Camille Saint-Saëns between 1879 and 1880 for the unusual combination of trumpet, two violins, viola, cello, double bass and piano. Like the suites Opp. 16, 49, 90, the septet is a neoclassical work that revives 17th-century French dance forms, reflecting Saint-Saëns's interest in the largely forgotten French musical traditions of the 17th century. The work was dedicated to Émile Lemoine, a mathematician and founder of the chamber music society La Trompette, who had long requested Saint-Saëns to compose a piece featuring the trumpet.

The septet consists of four movements, each around four minutes in length: Préambule (Allegro moderato), Menuet (Tempo di minuetto moderato), Intermède (Andante), and Gavotte et Finale (Allegro non troppo). The outer movements mix Baroque influences with Romantic elements, the Menuet uses "Baroque clichés", and the Intermède is the only fully Romantic movement.

The septet was successfully premiered on 28 December 1880 and published in March 1881. Hugo Wolf and others praised the work, and some consider it a neglected masterpiece in Saint-Saëns's oeuvre, admired for its skillful writing, musical humor, and effective balancing of the unusual instrumental forces.

History
The septet is dedicated to Émile Lemoine, a mathematician who in 1861 founded the chamber music society La Trompette. Saint-Saëns and other well known musicians such as Louis Diémer, Martin Pierre Marsick, and Isidor Philipp would often perform at the concerts of the society, which took place at Salle Érard and later in the hall of the Horticultural Society. For many years, Lemoine had asked Saint-Saëns to compose a special piece with the trumpet to justify the name of the society, and jokingly he would respond that he could create a work for guitar and thirteen trombones. Saint-Saëns eventually relented, and in 1879 presented to Lemoine a piece titled Préambule as a Christmas present, later promising to complete the work with the Préambule as the first movement.

The complete septet was successfully premiered on 28 December 1880. The string quartet was doubled at the premiere – in Saint-Saëns' opinion, it made a stronger impact that way. The work was first published in March 1881 with Durand.

Structure
The work consists of four movements, each around four minutes in length. 1. Préambule (Allegro moderato, E♭ major)
 * The pompous opening with a flourish of unison scales leads to the trumpet's entrance on a sustained E♭. The piano part, in the style of a virtuoso concerto, looks somewhat out of place. A march-like fugue establishes order, treating the theme in a manner similar to Schumann's Piano Quintet. Throughout the movement, romantic elements manage to break through baroque motoricism.
 * Saint-Saens - Septet - 1.svg

2. Menuet (Tempo di minuetto moderato, E♭ major)
 * The minuet uses "baroque clichés" even more strikingly than the first movement. Influences of Lully and Handel are mixed with romantic elements. The central trio features an elegant melody; Keller calls it a "gem of light lyricism in which the piano embroiders the strings' melody with a filigree of decoration."
 * Saint-Saens - Septet - 2.svg

3. Intermède (Andante, C minor)
 * The Intermède (interlude), initially titled Marche funèbre, is the work's only fully romantic movement: a minor-key cantilena over a Bolero-style rhythm. The main theme is first introduced in the cello, and then played in succession by the viola, the violins, and the trumpet, while the piano provides a rhythmic ostinato; Keller calls the effect "rather Schumannesque".
 * Saint-Saens - Septet - 3.svg

4. Gavotte et Finale (Allegro non troppo, E♭ major)
 * The final movement is a "rollicking dance movement", in which the rhythm of the time-honored Gavotte is somewhat obscured by brilliant piano passages. A brilliant virtuoso fugue ends the movement, "bringing everything to a broadly smiling conclusion".
 * Saint-Saens - Septet - 4.svg

Legacy
Hugo Wolf, who attended a performance of the septet in Vienna on 1 January 1887, wrote: "What was most engaging about this piece, distinguished by its skillful exploitation of the trumpet, was its brevity. A bit longer, and it would be a bore. This shrewd moderation and pithiness is admirable, and absolutely not to be underestimated. How many a German composer might envy Saint-Saëns this virtue!" Of Saint-Saëns's works, it was the septet that he reportedly liked most.

In October 1907, Saint-Saëns confessed to Lemoine: "When I think how much you pestered me to make me produce, against my better judgment, this piece that I did not want to write and which has become one of my great successes, I never understood why."

The septet was performed at Saint-Saëns' last public appearance as a pianist, shortly before his death, on the occasion of a celebration that Académie des Beaux-Arts members threw for him.

James Keller writes that the septet "stands as a curiosity of instrumentation that balances its forces with far greater success than one might anticipate. Portions of this appealing and entertaining work rank high on the scale of musical humor." Jeremy Nicholas has called the septet a neglected masterpiece, alongside the Piano Quartet and the First Violin Sonata.

Arrangements
Numerous arrangements of the septet were made, including one for piano trio by Saint-Saëns himself (November 1881), and the Menuet and Gavotte for two pianos (August 1881). His pupil Gabriel Fauré arranged the work for piano duet (October 1881). Albert Périlhou made a concert transcription of the Gavotte (April 1886).